The ranting and raving of a geek who likes guns and planes and all kinds of other stuff.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Letter to the Editor

So, I zipped off a letter to the opinion desk of the student newspaper here at Texas A&M University. The Battalion. I dare them to publish it. If they do, I am expecting a flood of hate mail.

BACKGROUND, HS Senior is pledged to come to A&M and on a scholarship to play roundball. Post sr prom, he is intoxicated and decides to get behind the wheel and drive home or where ever. On the way, he loses control and kills a critical care nurse on her way to work as well as kills himself. Big fuss made over him and his family and the fact that he was pledged to come here and be a promising basketball star. Fundraisers held for his family, talk of a scholarship in his name, etc.

A&M also has a tradition called Silver Taps where fallen Aggies are remembered. Now, since he was not an Aggie yet, he is not included in the ceremony. There was an opinion piece in the paper that he should be included to show how much the Aggie community cares and that he really was a part of it.

Add to that, The Aggie Code of Honor, "An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do. " Since there is nothing in there about underage drinking, DWI, Vehicular Homicide or Intoxication Manslaughter, I guess those things don't matter.

UPDATED EDIT: So, looking back over news articles from the original crash, it happened at 06:15 and he had been at an all night post prom party at Dave & Busters that was school sponsored. No mention of Alcohol but speculation he might have fallen asleep. I'll have to keep digging for the article I read where the idea was floated about alcohol involvement. Still, he was impaired and still there was no fundraiser or big memorial service for the woman he killed. She got a line in the articles I've found so far. "The driver of the Jeep, a 50 year old woman, was dead at the scene."

UPDATED PARTIAL RETRACTION: So, now I found a later article that flat out said, no drugs or alcohol are believed to have been involved in the accident.

Well, that takes out the DWI thing but still, the speculation that he fell asleep. Ya Think? after being up all night at a party after the prom that is a likely event. However, none of that changes the fact that all the attention is on him dieing and not the fact that he killed someone else doing it. All the attention and outpouring of emotion has been over his loss. I understand it is a loss for someone so young to die but for what has me all worked up and always has since this first happens remains, where is the outpouring of emotion for the woman he killed?